Be honest…what MTV Unplugged covers did you know before the original artist?
Posted by PhoneJazz@reddit | Xennials | View on Reddit | 72 comments
I knew Nirvana’s “Man Who Sold the World” before I knew Bowie’s version.
I knew 10,000 Maniacs’ “Because the Night” before I knew Patti Smith’s (yes, I know Springsteen wrote it)
I knew Rod Stewart’s Lite-FM staple of “Have I Told You Lately” before I heard Van Morrison’s
oldscotch@reddit
I'd guess almost everyone knew Where Did You Sleep Last Night as Nirvana before Leadbelly.
arcxjo@reddit
This isn't MTVU, but I'm ashamed to say I knew Faith Hill's "Piece of My Heart" before Janis.
creamywhitemayo@reddit
Meat Puppets songs from the Nirvana one. My oldest siblings were very much more College Rock than Grunge at that time (I was maybe 9 at the time, so there were 17/18), and I absorbed a lot of their tastes from car rides and hearing it through the vents.
AliveInTheFuture@reddit
Plateau
creamywhitemayo@reddit
Oh wait, I misread and reversed the question😂
creamywhitemayo@reddit
Oh wait, I misread and reversed the question😂
Scissorsguadalupe@reddit
I thought Springsteen and Patti wrote "Because the Night" together
Jaleou@reddit
It's more like he wrote it, gave it to her, and she changed the lyrics and performed it.
Kinetic_Silverwolf@reddit
Mostly none, but near the end of the 90s I was the only one in my friend group who already knew "Last Kiss" before Pearl Jam covered it, because my grandparents had an original copy of the record it was on.
Jaleou@reddit
When that song came out, I was listening to it on the radio,and my dad told me that it wasn't a new song, he had played it in his garage band in the early 70s.
homerj681@reddit
Hot take.... I'm not a fan of that version. It's done well, it just bothered me that it made it onto the greatest hits album.
tass_man@reddit
But it is literally their greatest hit. Like, by definition it is their highest charting song. It would be very strange for them not to include it on a greatest hits album.
homerj681@reddit
Hot take, unpopular opinion... Call it what you will. I think when compared to their catalogue, it's lame. It's pandering. I get the metrics make it their biggest hit, it just makes my eyes roll when I hear it.
tass_man@reddit
Oh, I have no issues with your take of not liking the song. That’s actually a pretty normal take (imo), but I thought it was strange that you didn’t think it belonged on the greatest hits.
Greatest hits albums are usually catered more towards casual fans; I think casual fans would probably be disappointed if that song wasn’t on there.
homerj681@reddit
Agreed. I actually didn't realize it was literally the top song of theirs. I think maybe that's what baffles me. Makes total sense that it's on the album then though.
tass_man@reddit
Also, in case you’re not familiar, the song wasn’t actually meant to be heard by anyone other than the most hardcore fans (it was recorded during a soundcheck and was released on a 7” vinyl that was sent yearly to fan club members).
However, a radio dj started playing it and then it blew up. So the band decided to release it officially, but only if the proceeds would be donated (I believe to the Kosovo refugees). So while it doesn’t fit in with the rest of their catalog, some good came out of it.
Knowing is half the battle.
homerj681@reddit
That backstory rings a bell, but can't say I knew it. Thanks for the insight! Yo Joe!
PhoneJazz@reddit (OP)
There was a disturbing amount of Teen Car Accident Death songs in the 60s lol
Life-Finding5331@reddit
The cars were less safe.
EastTXJosh@reddit
I believe Pearl Jam played “Rockin’ in the Free World” as part of its Unplugged set, but it got cut from the TV broadcast. Although, as many times as they’ve played it with Neil, it’s almost as much their song as it is his.
squarebodynewb@reddit
Does this count?
I knew the Deftones cover of "Wax and Wane" before i knew it was a cover of the Cocteau Twins.
It just sounded like a Deftones song to me that didnt make an album and since it was on "B Sides and Rarities" album i just didnt know. Only heard original this weekend by accident on a tv show. Ill attach spotify links.
Original by Cocteau Twins
Cover by Deftones
icenine09@reddit
You should similarly let their cover of "Do You Believe" from the deluxe edition of Diamond Eyes get you into The Cardigans.
squarebodynewb@reddit
Sorry. I had responded yes i knew it and then had to go back and see if i was recalling right.
If anyone wants original
https://youtu.be/ER0b2dwbXko?si=N03SYrwuCRD7_lMj
squarebodynewb@reddit
Did know that one. Thanks though.
wharpua@reddit
The first REM Unplugged was when I first heard “Love is All Around Me” by the Troggs
(which then appeared in Four Weddings and a Funeral and then skewed into that Xmas song for Love Actually)
socothecat@reddit
Nirvana’s cover of Lead Belly’s in the pines
icenine09@reddit
The Louvin Brothers version is solid too
JoeInMD@reddit
Fuck, TIL
TreAwayDeuce@reddit
Same. Such a good fuckin cover tho.
socothecat@reddit
So good!!
IceSmiley@reddit
I'm not certain these were on the show but I knew these covers before the original:
willy_the_snitch@reddit
I heard Clapton's After Midnight before JJ Cale's and thought JJ's was a great cover. Same deal with Pressure Drop. I was surprised that Toots and the Maytals had even heard of the Clash. Smh
ScreenPuzzleheaded48@reddit
Layla
Man who sold the world
Because the night
worksnake@reddit
Who covered Layla in their unplugged?
ScreenPuzzleheaded48@reddit
Ah I misread the question. I thought they meant versions of Unplugged songs that we knew before the originals
xRVAx@reddit
I knew the Layla unplugged version before I had heard the classic rock version
TrashBoatTrashBoat@reddit
I knew the opening riff to the original version because of WKRP In Cincinnati
I knew the instrumental section of the original because of Goodfellas
Never connected either of those to the unplugged version when it came out, it was years later when I finally connected the dots. 🤯
Guess I couldn’t “spot this one”
udonbeatsramen@reddit
This is me. I was obsessed with that Goodfellas scene but never found out the name of the song or artist. Heard Layla on Unplugged after that. Didn’t make the connection for years
Trinikas@reddit
My dad was a big Clapton fan so I knew the rockier version first.
siriusthinking@reddit
It blew my mind the first time I heard the original.
noonesaidityet@reddit
Same here. That was a revelation for sure. Both versions are great in their own right, kind of like a movie version of a book.
207Menace@reddit
Layla
gullyfoyle777@reddit
Pretty much all the ones you named lol
Zero_Imacat@reddit
My mom knew Maxwell's version of "Closer" before hearing the original by Nine Inch Nails. So it was fun for me to play her the original.
mustachiomegazord@reddit
Still think 10000 maniacs did the best version
dankdadest@reddit
Lost my virginity while that was playing...🤣
moissan2nite@reddit
The night did indeed belong to lovers.
siriusthinking@reddit
I listen to it on a regular basis, it's so good.
TheGhostofChuckPyle@reddit
I'm a huge Springsteen fan. For more than 20 years now, I've crisscrossed the country seeing him in concert. When I drive anywhere, the odds are exceedingly good that I'm listening to E Street Radio in my car.
I could not agree with you more if I tried. Bruce hits singles with his version of that song. 10,000 Maniacs knock it out of the park.
wheres_the_revolt@reddit
Like half of Nirvana unplugged songs are covers. I knew Man Who Sold The World and Where Did You Sleep Last Night’s original songs first but didn’t know any of the other ones.
jessek@reddit
I knew Man Who Sold the World because that was the Bowie album with him in drag on the cover. I was not hip to the Meat Puppets or the Vaselines before that episode of Unplugged but the Meat Puppets were literally on with Nirvana so anyone who thought Lake of Fire etc were Nirvana originals was a fool.
Just_a_guy81@reddit
What was funny was Nirvana announced a special musical guest for the show and everyone was convinced that it was going to be Eddie Vedder. But it ended up being the Meat Puppets who nobody had ever heard of.
OneMtnAtATime@reddit
I was a meat puppets fan…which song of theirs was covered on unplugged? I can’t think of one.
Just_a_guy81@reddit
Plateau, Oh Me, and Lake of Fire
jessek@reddit
Plateau, Lake of Fire and Oh Me
Norwester77@reddit
I just know I knew a lot of Weird Al parodies before I knew the original songs!
Accomplished_Book427@reddit
My absolutely useless talent only appreciated by other Xennials is an absolutely killer impression of Natalie Merchant doing this song
mid_1990s_death_doom@reddit
Lake of fire is a meat puppets song. Kurt Cobain wasn't butchering the first line of vocals lol they're supposed to be that way.
therealpopkiller@reddit
I knew “Hungry Like the Wolf” before Hole covered it
fearofcrowds@reddit
I guess a sorta answer. I heard Hole's You Know You're Right from their Unplugged before the Nirvana version. It came out before.
cbih@reddit
Like all of them? I don't think there were any really deep cuts in there
HarrietsDiary@reddit
My musical taste was formed by Unplugged.
glittersparklythings@reddit
Look up an artist named Otis Redding. And look up his entire catalogue. I think you might be impressed to see the list of songs you recognize. L
He originally sang Respect. Which Aretha tweaked a bit to make it from a female’s perspective. Hard to Handle and Sitting on the Dock of the Bay are two more.
PhoneJazz@reddit (OP)
Yes, I know Otis Redding :)
Keri Kenney from The State has the best version of Sittin’, and I can’t be convinced otherwise.
PhoneJazz@reddit (OP)
Yes, I’m familiar with Otis Redding :)
Keri Kenney from The State has the best version of Sittin’ and I can’t be convinced otherwise.
Hot-Garbage123@reddit
It makes me sad to think that people would have to look up who Otis Redding was.
TransportationOk657@reddit
I'm only familiar with a few MTV Unplugged sessions (STP, Nirvana, and Alice in Chains). So, essentially all of the cover songs Nirvana did. Never heard anyone of the originals prior to it.
laurenishere@reddit
Because the Night (Maniacs version) was my favorite song throughout 8th grade, but I'm not sure I really knew anything about Patti Smith until years later. (Probably when we got the internet and I looked her up!)
EdwardDorito@reddit
The Mariah Carey version of "I'll Be There" comes to mind. And yes, several others have mentioned "Because The Night" as well and i loved that too, having no idea it wasn't a Maniacs song. Strangely i associate both of these songs with Thanksgiving 1993 because whatever relatives' house we were at, all the kids were watching MTV and VH1 whenever we could get away with it and i remember both performances being played multiple times
udonbeatsramen@reddit
I knew Hungry Like The Wolf which Hole covered on Unplugged
Reasonable-Wave8093@reddit
Without You
Verbull710@reddit
Because the night of course
I still like that better than every other version, but I like this one by The Midnight, as well